Welcome to Somewhere Over the Rhine

Friday, May 15, 2009

If asked to sign "the streetcar petition" make sure you quickly say no! The NAACP has been diligently working to deceive people into signing a petition against the streetcar by asking simply if "you'd like to sign the streetcar petition." They don't explain what it is for and could easily lead people into signing it even if they are actually in support of the streetcar.The NAACP reports today that they have 50% or so of the votes needed to put this ridiculous charter amendment on the ballot in November. They have until July to get this done. Let's hope they fail by educating everyone about how bad this charter amendment would be for the City of Cincinnati's future.

Tell your friends, co-workers, and everyone you know NOT to sign the NAACP Streetcar Petition!!

Trying to get people to sign petitions while providing as little information as possible is certainly not new, but is still not ethical in my book.

I hear people from the casino petition drive refer to it as a job creation petition. That's all well and good, but I had to press to get them to say that it was specifically for allowing casinos in Ohio.

From what I've heard this is the same kind of approach being used by those circulating the streetcar petitions. It may be legally justified, but it surely doesn't make it right.

So, because you don't believe in the NAACP deceiving people you have chosen to describe exactly what the petition entails when you tell them not to sign the petition? The petition simply calls for a vote by the people of Cincinnati. There should be no reason for anyone to disagree with a vote on the streetcar before the track is laid.

Andy, there is a reason to disagree with a vote on the Streetcar. No such vote is required before our leaders spend billions on road projects, such as the widening of I-75 and new Brent Spence Bridge. So why must we make it harder to build rail projects, including the Streetcar, the Eastern Corridor project and others? Also, many would argue that amending the city charter is an inappropriate way to handle this issue, and oppose the petition for that reason.

"I hear people from the casino petition drive refer to it as a job creation petition."A guy asked me to sign a jobs creation petition the other day. I had no idea what he was talking about.Thing is - I used to sign anything to let people vote on issues but seeing the misinformation flying around on almost all these ballot measures, I don't sign anything anymore.I DON'T want to live in California.

Andy, As Travis mentioned, it is actually a petition to change the city's charter (our local constitution), which is not something that should be taken lightly. Also, it is not a petition to "Vote on the Streetcar", it in fact is trying to make it so that the city can not spend any time, money or resources on anything related to rail or right-of way acquisitions with out a public vote. This would absolutely stop any progress both now or in the future. "Want to paint a railroad crossing sign? Well, we'll just have to wait 'til November and put it on a ballot."

What Byron said is exactly right. This charter amendment that they are trying to pass under the disguise of an anti-streetcar campaign would be devastating for our city. It would make it impossible for our city to do anything related to rail transit forever. That includes regional light rail, high speed rail, streetcars anything on tracks.

Even if a private company wanted to come to Cincinnati, pay for a streetcar system out of their own pocket and fund it for the rest of its operational life, the city would first have to wait for a vote for right of way acquisitions, funding to study its course, anything related to rail transit at all would be effectively and completely stopped.This is not how a city government should be run. If everything City Council needed to do required a vote there would be no way anything would ever get accomplished.We should not allow a private, special interest group like the NAACP to tell our city government how to operate.

of course it wont raise taxes michael jackson is going to pay for it or perhaps the money fairy will grace the city with a billion or so to pay to 200 mil for the project and finance the idiots who thought up this waste of dollars in a harsh economy clear into the next millenium.By the way Jason are you the owner of the contractor who stands to profit from this scheme or are you a overpaid ceo trying to screw up as much as you can in order to earn your million dollars bonus....or more likely a wood fairy living in a cloud, of course it would not raise your taxes your in neverland

HERE IS YOUR CHANCE JASON........WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM.......AND IN THE FUTURE WHEN THIS FARCE FAILS TO SELF FUND ITSELF HOW MUCH OF A INFUSION OF TAX DOLLARS WILL HAVE TO BE TAKEN AWAY FROM WORTHY CAUSES WHICH BENIFIT VERY WORTHY PROGRAMS,IN ORDER FOR YOUR STATEMENT "THE STREETCAR PROJECT WILL NOT RAISE TAXES" TO REMAIN TRUE? THIS IS A PROJECT THAT WILL BENEFIT FEW AT THE EXPENSE OF ALL THIS IS NOT A PROJECT THAT GOOD GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE PROUD TO ENDORSE IN TIMES WHEN EVERYONE NEEDS TO TRIM THE FAT. I AM SURE THE 100 POLICE OFFICERS WHO ARE FACING A FUTURE WITHOUT A PAYCHECK WILL BE HAPPY TO SIGN THE PETITION.....HOW MANY YEARS SERVICE WOULD THAT 185 MILLION FUND FOR THOSE OFFICERS WHO FACE A BLEAK FUTURE? WAKE UP JASON AMERICA IS TIRED OF ALL THE CRAP. WE ARE NO LONGER THE UNINFORMED COMSUMER/TAXPAYER. ONE MORE THING......IF THIS IS SUCH A GREAT AND WONDERFUL PROJECT WITH ALL THE MERITS AND FUNDING YOU PROCLAIM.......WHY IN THE WORLD ARE YOU SCARED OF ALLOWING THE PUBLIC TO DECIDE? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO GAIN FROM THIS DEAL?

Must See Streetcar Report

Streetcar FAQ

Not sold on the streetcar?Please take the time to look at this information with an open mind.Click HereA modern streetcar system is a real transportation solution that we can really benefit from.With federal and private funding sources, it won't raise anyone's taxes and will generate lots of new tax revenue for the city, that we desperately need. We'd be foolish not to invest in a streetcar system now. Dozens of cities across the U.S. are investing in streetcars and we don't want to be left behind.